Rayo Vallecano vs Villarreal prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2023-09-23 14:15.
Flying high in the top-six ahead of the round, Rayo Vallecano can safely say they’ve had a solid start to the new La Liga (LL) season (W3, L2). They snapped a two-game losing league run with a 2-0 victory against Alavés in their last outing, a result which now affords them the chance to notch back-to-back home league wins for the first time this season, which should lay to rest any remaining demons from their harrowing 7-0 defeat to Atlético Madrid in their home league opener.
Scoring first could be key to those chances, as none of Vallecano’s five LL games this term have seen both teams get on the scoresheet, making them the only LL team to have seen such a quirk in their games this season. Vallecano will hope to fall on the right side of those margins again after completing a H2H league double over Villarreal last season, but that pair of wins was as many victories as they’d managed in the 18 H2Hs prior (W2, D3, L13), suggesting they went against the grain somewhat.
A slightly laboured LL start (W2, L3) leaves Villarreal in the bottom half coming into this clash, and after their European campaign got under way in midweek, they’ve had an added distraction in the build-up here. The 2020/21 UEFA Europa League winners went down 2-0 against Panathinaikos in their group opener as they seek to regain their crown, after which boss Pacheta claimed his side need to “toughen up”.
It’s easy to see where he’s coming from in that sense too, with Villarreal keeping just one clean sheet from their six competitive outings this term. There is a silver lining in the fact that one came on the road, and for a side who’ve scored exactly once in five of their last six away league outings, clean sheets take on added importance.
Players to watch: Isi Palazón netted the ultimately decisive goal in this corresponding H2H last season and has scored from the spot in two of Vallecano’s three LL wins this season, each time a first half game opener. Similarly, Gerard Moreno has been on target in Villarreal’s two victories this term, and he’s netted twice in his last four personal LL H2Hs.
Hot streak: Rayo Vallecano’s last eight LL wins saw them net exactly twice.